Lando Norris no match for Max Verstappen as a title challenger, suggests Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc recently talked about how Lando Norris' main battle was for P2 with him rather than P1 with Max Verstappen. The Ferrari driver discussed the points difference between Norris and Verstappen being more than the difference between Norris and himself.

As the 2024 F1 season comes to an end, the battle for constructors' and drivers' championships is heating up. Verstappen, Norris, and Leclerc are in contention to win the drivers' title, while Red Bull, McLaren, and Ferrari are chasing the constructors' trophy.

Speaking to Canal+, Charles Leclerc talked about Ferrari's fight against McLaren for constructors' championship, and his own battle against Norris for P2. He explained the points difference between him, Norris, and Verstappen, saying the Mclaren driver is closer to him than to the Red Bull star, who is defending his championship title.

Leclerc said though there are loads of stories regarding Max Verstappen and Lando Norris's battle for the title, the points difference between the two is huge.

"I think we're the main threat for McLaren for the WCC. For the WDC, honestly, I know there's a discourse these days for the Max-Lando battle but it's still a lot of points between them," Leclerc said.

"I think there's more a battle between me and Lando for P2 than between Max and Lando but all scenarios are still possible, even if some of them are more likely than the others. So we're going to focus on the most likely ones, P1 in the WCC and P2 in the WDC, I will do everything to have the best results possible," he added.

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Charles Leclerc says he 'welcomes' Max Verstappen and Lando Norris for on-track clashes

Charles Leclerc recently talked about how he gains an advantage whenever Max Verstappen and Lando Norris race each other aggressively in the Grand Prix. Speaking in the Mexican GP post-race press conference, the Monegasque said Verstappen-Norris clashes allow him to close the gap to Norris in the drivers' championship.

Leclerc added that he was not too focused on the drivers' title since he still had a lot of points to cover before challenging Max Verstappen. Hence, the Ferrari driver has taken the approach of focusing on each race as they arrive.

"I welcome Max being as aggressive to Lando as possible because it helps me, at least it gives me chances to be closer to Lando in the Drivers' Championship because it's still a fight," Leclerc said (via fia.com).

"On my side, I don't think about the Drivers' Championship, realistically. As I was saying earlier, I think first the approach is not to start thinking about the Drivers' Championship. That doesn't help me achieve anything more. It's by focusing race by race," he added.

In the drivers' championship table, Max Verstappen leads with 362 points, Lando Norris is second with 315 points, and Charles Leclerc is third with 291 points.

In the constructors' championship, McLaren leads the table with 566 points, Ferrari is in second place with 537 points, and Red Bull is down in third place with 512 points.